Dream 11 Notebook: Aoki Still Eyeing B.J. Penn, UFC Lightweights

TOKYO -- After wresting the lightweight title from Joachim
Hansen in the final four seconds of their bout Tuesday at Dream
11, it seemed all but inevitable that Shinya Aoki
would defend his new belt against deserving No. 1 contender
Tatsuya
Kawajiri at the Dec. 31 K-1 Dynamite event.

Instead, Aoki promised to “consider” Kawajiri's New Year’s Eve
challenge, and then he took the opportunity to ridicule “Crusher's”
direct request for a title shot in his post-fight comments.

“I was thinking, 'Why is he here?' I can't reply
immediately,” said Aoki of the challenge before concluding that,
rather than fight, he would rather take a break on Dec. 31.

“I don't even want to say anything about (New Year’s Eve). I've
been fighting one bout after another, so I'm exhausted. I was
thinking this was my last fight. I just want to rest. After that,
then maybe I can decide on something. I'd like to fight B.J. Penn.”

Aoki has been slipping more and more UFC references into his
commentary of late, no doubt fueled by his steady climb to the top
of Dream's lightweight ranks. Given the frequency of the comments
-- and coming on the greatest night of his career, no less -- the
talk is likely more than just saber-rattling on his part.

“I want to fight the best in the world, like B.J. Penn and Kenny
Florian -- strong guys like that,” he said. “I want to take
them out and prove that Japanese are truly strong. I was told by
someone that 'you got the belt, now you're number one in the
world,' but I don't think so. Being top of the world isn't
something so trivial. If I could become like B.J. Penn, I could die
(happy).”

Fernandes Content with Performance,
Evolution

Part and parcel of competing in a Japanese tournament is the risk
of fighting two taxing battles in one night. Dream featherweight
grand prix champion and featherweight divisional champion Bibiano
Fernandes shared such a fate with finals opponent Hiroyuki
Takaya. Fatigue decreased Fernandes' takedown attempts as his
championship bout with the “Streetfight Bancho” wore down to the
end.

“He really gave me no other option. I tried to take him down and
fight on the ground, but he kept pushing forward with big punches
and all I could do was answer him in kind. He's an excellent boxer,
and I consider myself an excellent boxer as well. The proof is in
me knocking him down and him squirming on the mat,” remarked
Fernandes, who gave a shout out to Canadian boxing coach Tony Pep
for preparing him for such a war.

Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com

Fernandes was impressive at Dream
11.

“I ate good shots, and it's something I should
reflect on. Still, it was as I expected,” a red-eyed Takaya
remarked post-fight, acknowledging Fernandes' standup abilities. “I
had some pain carried over from the first fight, but that's it. It
helped me get into the groove for the second fight, but it went
long and in the end, yeah, I was really tired. But as for the
content of the fight, there's nothing for me to be ashamed of.”

At Wednesday's post-fight presser, Fernandes described the fight as
a “war.”

“Takaya was a good fighter in the standup,” he said. “I could prove
that I am also good in standup as well, so I'm showing growth.”

Dream event producer Keiichi Sasahara noted that while staging
Fernandes' first defense this year would be difficult, Dream would
try to put one together as soon as possible in 2010. Sasahara
tabbed Takaya in a rematch as his current idea of Fernandes' best
contender.

Ratings Success

Despite much gnashing of teeth by MMA purists at some of the Dream
11 bouts, the event's matchmaking justified itself in delivering a
respectable 12.7 percent average rating during its primetime
broadcast on TBS Tuesday evening. Though just under four percent
shy of their last primetime effort for May's Dream 9, Sasahara
expressed satisfaction with the rating, tabbing the Super Hulk
Tournament as the responsible party for the satisfactory
rating.

In breaking down their viewership, Sasahara pointed toward central
Japan's Niigata prefecture and the Southern isles of Kyushu as the
regions that contributed the most viewers -- 17.5 and 18.4 percent
respectively -- jesting that Dream's next non-Tokyo foray might
well be taken to these locations.